Forest and Climate

When forests are destroyed, they release large quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which contributes to climate change.

Forests are the largest storehouse of carbon after the oceans. However, when forests are destroyed by activities such as logging and land conversion for agriculture, they release large quantities of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Reducing deforestation and forest degradation must be part of the solution to the global climate change problem.

Forests have a critical role to play in combating climate change. And WWF's international Forest & Climate Programme has a strategy to win that battle.

This includes:

ensuring that the new climate change deal provides incentives to reduce emissions from deforestation and land degradation

assisting countries, especially developing countries, to develop national and regional approaches that tackle forest-based emissions and benefit local communities